Exceeding your GPA

Applying to College
1

<p>I am currently trying to apply for college but have received no guidance whatsoever, and have come here for some help.</p>

<p>Some of my qualifications are:
-35 ACT (my counselor told me not to take it...)
-Very involved in athletics (I placed in the section in both track and wrestling, and I will do much better this year... but thats after I apply)
-Musical Talent. I am not part of any band or school music program, and have never taken formal lessons. However, I have played for 20+ hours a week for four years. I have performed at several places both alone and with a band (one performance was over 800 people). I am currently taking AP music theory as an independent study.
-I received an academic excellence award in AP comp sci (only 3 are awarded per year), and scored a 5 on that exam and a 4 on AP bio.
-I have written a common app essay about cooking and addressed my academic work ethic within the essay. My teacher said it was one of the best he has ever read and I believe it will help me with admission.</p>

<p>My GPA is a 4.28 weighted out of 6.0, because previously in my high school career, I simply didn't care.</p>

<p>I am currently easily maintaining straight A's with a heavy course load. (Why couldn't I do that before?) Many of my friends are applying to top schools nationwide because I go to an extremely competitive high school. I realized that I have a strong desire to go to a very good school, and feel out of place applying to mediocre schools.</p>

<ol>
<li>Can anyone help? </li>
<li>I know there are cases where low test scores can be overlooked among other things, but can a GPA? </li>
<li>What kind of reach schools should I look at? I am planning on applying to over 10 schools.</li>
</ol>

2

<p>Where do you rank?</p>

3

<p>Its out of 5 regular, 6 weighted. The highest GPA in the class of 2009 was a 5.58.</p>

4

<p>My school doesn’t do class ranks. The mean GPA last year was a 4.55</p>

5

<p>Some colleges only look at 10-12 grades–would that help your GPA? Do you know what your unweighted GPA is? Colleges are happy to see improved grades by senior year–so keep up those straight A’s.</p>

<p>Your ACT is great–that is a huge plus. If you write about maturing into a serious student in one of your essays or supplements, that might help adcoms see that you are now committed to hard work and high achievement.</p>

<p>Do you have some geographical preferences for your reach schools? Urban, suburban, rural? East, middle or West?</p>

<p>Ideas for reaches: Emory, Duke, Georgetown, USC, Tufts, Brown, Claremont-McKenna, UC San Diego, UMich, Washington U.at St.Louis, Carleton College, Colorado College??</p>

6

<p>With a GPA below mean, even if you attend Andover, you’d have a tough time at top colleges.</p>

7

<p>If it is not in an urban area (or close suburbs), I would need a very large school. I can’t deal with being isolated.</p>

8

<p>You would probably have a good chance at some large universities based on those ACTs and coming from a private school. I assume you would not need financial aid?</p>